Chatha/Jammu, April 18
Following overnight rain and hailstorm at several places across the Jammu region yesterday, the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu, (SKUAST) has advised farmers to postpone the harvesting of wheat and barley crops till the weather turns sunny.

Till the weather gets clear, the farmers should avoid harvesting the standing crops because storing them in prevailing weather conditions would cause more damage to the grain, said experts of the Agrometeorology Department, SKUAST.

They added that the chances of damage to granules of the standing crops in such weather conditions were less compared to the damage to the harvested crops.

The experts said, “Keeping the weather in view, the farmers have been advised to make necessary arrangements to prevent any possible damage to their crops. The temperature, both maximum and minimum, has remained much lower than the normal, affecting the size of granules this year”. He added that the full ripening of crops was also delayed.

In the last 24 hours, the region witnessed 14 mm of rain. The officials of the Meteorology Department said the rain due to the western disturbances had brought down the mercury by a few notches. In April till today, 24.4 mm of rain had been recorded.

A visit to various villages in the RS Pura area revealed that though the effect of the rain was less on the standing wheat crop, the vegetable crops had been badly destroyed. “The weather disturbances in the last seven days have damaged the crops, especially vegetables. Yesterday’s hailstorm will also show its effect on vegetables, as their prices will shoot up,” said Ghanshyam Dass, a farmer at Abdullian village, who has sown wheat and vegetables on 10 acres.

He added, “The wheat crop is in its final stage of ripening and is ready for harvesting, but rain God has not been kind to us this year. Already, the yellow rust has affected the crop and if there is one or more similar spells of rain, the entire wheat crop will be damaged”.

About the changing climate conditions and its effects, experts of the SKUAST said the maximum temperature hovered around 4.5°C less than the normal temperature. Humidity in the air was also recorded above 80 per cent, while the wind speed was recorded as 4 km/hour.

The experts said while the major crops like wheat and barley and vegetables had been damaged, horticulture crops like mango, which is in the flowering stage, had been infected. Besides, the yield of papaya, ber, loquat and plum had also been affected. They added that the sowing of pulses like moong and mash had also been delayed.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Department has started a fresh exercise to assess damage caused to crops. 

Jammu, April 18
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today gave nod to the construction of a state-of-art legislative complex in Jammu at an estimated cost of over Rs 100 crore. “Finalise the detailed project report and clear decks within next 60 days so that the foundation of the complex is laid by June end,” said Omar.

The Chief Minister fixed the time schedule of three years for the completion of the complex and told the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) to incorporate all facilities in the detailed report after taking a holistic view of the present and future requirements.

He said the shortage of space and other impediments in the present Legislative Complex had necessitated the construction of a modern and befitting complex for the smooth conduct of legislative business and holding of sessions in a better environment.

Omar directed the JKPCC to formulate a concrete work schedule for the completion of the project, taking care of proper housing of the two Houses, their secretariats, central hall, galleries, library and other disciplines.

He approved the project at a meeting attended by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone, Minister for Law and Justice Ali Mohammad Sagar, Minister of State for Law and Rural Development Ajaz Ahmad Khan, political adviser to the Chief Minister Devender Singh Rana; Principal Secretary, Home, BR Sharma; Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister BB Vyas; Principal Secretary, R&B, KB Agarwal; Commissioner/Secretary, General Administrative Department, MS Khan; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pawan Kotwal; Law Secretary GH Tantray; secretary, Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Ramzan; secretary, Legislative Council, Mohammad Ashraf Mir; Chief Engineer, R&B, and other senior officers.

Meanwhile, Omar also visited Lakhanpur to have a first-hand appraisal of the completion of the modern Toll Plaza being built at a cost of over Rs 32.20 crore. Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather accompanied him. Omar was briefed about the status of the construction work and other aspects of the project at a meeting of the officers. 

Jammu, April 18
A deputation of the Zeashta Devi Prabandhak Committee, Srinagar, led by its president, BB Bhat, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and presented a memorandum of demands to him.

The demands presented to the Governor included the setting up of a police post, provision of a medical camp at the mandir during summer, lighting of the road leading to the temple and a transport service from Lal Chowk to the Zeashta Devi Temple.

The other demands highlighted by the deputation included setting up of langar during the Amarnath yatra, besides a provision for waterproof shamyana and tents for the convenience of pilgrims visiting the temple.

The Governor inquired from the deputation about the infrastructure facilities, which were at present available at the temple for the devotees. He assured the delegation that its demands would be taken up with the district authorities.

Jammu, April 18
The police registered an FIR against its own Inspector and an overenthusiastic supporter of a candidate who won the election to the post of sarpanch in the Bala Chak area of the RS Pura subdivision, following a protest today.

It said the accused, who are relatives of a candidate who won the election to the seat of sarpanch and residents of Balesar village, opened fire while celebrating the victory of their candidate in the panchayat elections.

The protesters blocked the Arnia road for three hours today and sought stern action against the elected sarpanch for allegedly using muscle power to ensure his victory. They also demanded that free and fair elections be held again. “Elections were held at gunpoint. The gun-wielding supporters of Kuldeep Singh, who won the election, were roaming around polling centres at Chak Bala, Balesar, Qadir Pur and Prema Chak unhindered,” said Sunil Dutt, another candidate for the post of sarpanch.

“We repeatedly complained to the police and the local administration against this illegal activity and asked the latter to keep gunmen away from the polling stations, but it did nothing,” he added.

Reports said a team of experts from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory visited the spot today and collected empty cartridges. “A case has been registered against Inspector Gurnam Singh and Jagtar Singh under Sections 334 and 336 of the RPC for voluntarily causing injury on provocation and endangering the life or personal safety of others,” a police officer at Arnia police station said.

SP, headquarters, Shailendar Singh refuted the allegations and claimed that the entire election process went on smoothly. “This firing incident is a stray incident that took place during victory celebrations after the results were declared,” he said. He added that the weapons of the contesting candidates and their close relatives had already been seized by the police to ensure peaceful elections.

“There has not been even a single incident of violence before the elections poll or during the poll process in the area,” the SP said. He added that the name of the Inspector, who opened fire, was not in the duty roster.

Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers from Miran Sahib held a demonstration at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office here today against the alleged bungling in the panchayat elections in their halqa yesterday.

Des Raj, who lost the election for the post of sarpanch in the Darsopur halqa in RS Pura, alleged that, “Bungling took place on two counts. One, there were only 302 voters on electoral rolls prepared for Ganday village till yesterday afternoon. However, as many as 405 votes casted votes during the election. Second, as per the norms, the process of polling has to be finished by 2 pm, but it went on till 4 pm,” Des Raj said. He alleged that though they raise a hue and cry, the local administration and the poling staff favoured the influential rival candidate, and he won the election.

They demanded that yesterday’s election be declared invalid and it be conducted again. However, the protesters relented after the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, assured them of an inquiry into the matter. 

Jammu, April 18
The All India Rahul Gandhi Fans Association, Jammu and Kashmir, organised a peace prayer at the Zorawar Singh Auditorium in the University of Jammu today for the people who lost their lives in the tsunami that hit Japan on March 11.

The programme started with the lighting of a lamp by the in charge of the Congress affairs in Punjab, Gulchain Singh Charak. A two-minute silence was observed for the departed souls. Later, students from Ladakh sang a song in the remembrance of the dead. Everyone present there prayed for peace to the departed souls. 

Jammu, April 18
The Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising
Justice Virender Singh and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar partly allowed a criminal appeal filed by Mohammad Amin Dar, thereby, acquitting him of the charges under Section 27 of the Arms Act, but upheld his conviction and sentence under Section 302 of the RPC.

The appellant along with the co-accused, armed with a lethal weapon made their entry into the house of Mastan Ali Sheikh and asked him to come out. When he refused to come out, the co-accused, Nissar Ahmed, alias Tunda, (since declared a proclaimed offender) asked the appellant to open fire. The appellant fired three shots from his AK-47 rifle and shot dead Sheikh. The assailants then fled after committing the crime. The motive projected by the prosecution was that the accused being trained terrorists had allegiance to a banned organisation and wanted to disturb peace and tranquillity of society to create fear and insecurity among people.

After the completion of the investigation, a challan was filed against the appellant, who was formally charged for the offences punishable under Section 302/120-A of the RPC read with Section 34 of the RPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act and was convicted under Section 302 of the RPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act.

The Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, while confirming the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 of the RPC, held that “In our view, no discrepancies can be given much importance, as they do not go to the root of the case. There is a difference between contradictions and discrepancies. Contradictions can be said to be somewhat damaging, but discrepancies, if not significant, should not be given undue weightage.”

The Division Bench also said, “A parrot-like version was not expected of a witness. Rather this would give an impression that the witness has been tutored. The natural witnesses to the occurrence were supposed to be bit discrepant on certain aspects. What was to be seen was whether the discrepancies appearing in their statements destroy the basic fabric of the prosecution case. If after testing their evidence on that yardstick, it was found that the evidence was trustworthy with regard to the main occurrence, the discrepancies found in their statements can be ignored. In the case at hand, all witnesses are rustic villagers and, therefore, one should not expect the minutest details from such type of witnesses. Even the most truthful witnesses were overawed by the court atmosphere and piercing cross-examination. We, after examining the evidence of three witnesses to the occurrence, are of the firm view that they are not stumbling at all so far as the main occurrence is concerned.”

Jammu, April 18
The Department of Urdu at the University of Jammu organised a “Meet the Short Story Writer Programme” at the Prof Gian Chand Jain Seminar Hall of the department today.

On the occasion, a noted short story writer from Lucknow, Mohsin Khan, interacted with the audience. The programme was presided over by a reputed short story writer of the sub-continent, Anand Lehar, while another noted short story writer, Khalid Hussain, was the chief guest.

The Head of Urdu Department, Prof Shohab Inayat Malik, also spoke during the programme. A large number of students, scholars, teachers and people attended the programme. 

Udhampur, April 18
Javed Ahmed of Patan in Baramulla district was declared as the best all-round recruit constable at the passing-out parade held at the Police Training Centre (PTC) at Talwara in Reasi district today. DGP Kuldip Khoda was the chief guest on the occasion.

A total 1,239 recruit constables of the 9th batch of the Basic Recruit Training Course (BRTC) training batch passed out of the portals of the PTC in the presence of the members of their families and the top brass of the police. They included 21 postgraduates, 337 graduates, 566 intermediates, 304 matriculates and 11 middle passouts. All of them would be absorbed in the state police as constables.

It was a proud moment for Javed and his family. He emerged as the best recruit during the training by securing 567 marks out of the total 1,000 marks. By virtue of the distinction, he would get one promotion immediately upon being posted. He was awarded the Sword of Honour on the occasion. Talking to mediapersons after the parade, Javed reiterated his resolve to serve the state and its people to the best of his ability. Javed owed his traits of hard work and honesty to his father.

In his address, the DGP advised young constables to translate all that they had learnt during the training on the ground while discharging their duty. He reminded them of serious challenges before them. He expressed hope that all constables would work for the welfare of the people and bring glory to the force. Among those present included Additional DGP K Rajendra Kumar, DIG, Udhampur-Reasi Police Range, Jagjeet Kumar, Principal of the PTC and SP Kailash Chander Sharma, SSP, Reasi, Keshav Ram Chaurasia and ASP, Reasi, Anita Sharma.

Jammu, April 18
A joint delegation of the Association for Welfare of Senior Citizens and the Senior Citizens Welfare Council called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and presented a memorandum of demands to him.

The delegation recalled that a state-level Advisory Council was set up in October 2008, during the period of Governor’s Rule, to address the problems of senior citizens and for the enactment of an appropriate legislation on the lines of the Senior Citizens Act, 2007, a Central law. It complained to the Governor that despite repeated efforts not a single meeting of the council had been held so far.

The Governor gave a patient hearing to the deputation and recognised the need for enforcing well-considered arrangements at tehsil, district and state levels to secure the welfare of senior citizens, particularly those among them who suffered from one or other disability rendering them immobile.

He assured the delegation that the government would be requested to convene an early meeting of the Advisory Council to discuss various issues concerning the welfare of senior citizens. 

Jammu, April 18
A soldier sustained splinter injuries when he mistakenly stepped on a landmine in a forward area near the Line of Control in Poonch district last evening.

Official sources said during routine patrolling, Army jawan Sanjeev Patil stepped on a landmine in the Kantar area of Mendhar tehsil. The soldier was admitted to hospital, they added. — TNS